Sun, 30 Apr 2006

Elliot Spitzer proposes to save us from "gouging" gas stations.
The trouble is that he is interfering in markets with NO CLUE
about economics. Here we have a case of the blind leading the deaf. The
deaf person can see perfectly fine the automobile heading towards
them, but the blind person, thinking the deaf person doesn't
understand that the blind person is leading him, grasps all the
harder.

The problem can be clearly seen in this quote (also here):
"Spitzer said the stations increased their at-the-pump prices by 25 to
75 percent for gas already in their holding facilities." Once you've
purchased something, do you really care how much it cost? If you've
purchased it for use value, you only care if you are considering
buying another, at which point you decide if the value you've gotten
is worth the price of the new one (not the first one you bought). If
you've purchased it for resale, you only care how much the next tanker
will cost.

Let me repeat that, since it's central: Gasoline retailers really
don't care how much they paid for gasoline. They'd like to make a
profit, but even more than that, they want to stay in business. That
means that no matter how much they paid, they're going to charge
enough to cover the next delivery. That's why gasoline prices tend to
shoot up, and drop slowly.

So, Elliot Spitzer is being purely evil when he pursues a case like
this. Why? Because he is doing so not because winning the case will
make NY a better place to live. He is bringing this lawsuit to pander
to the base instincts of the voting public. He wants to be seen as
"Having Done Something About High Gas Prices."

If Elliot were truly a leader, he would publicly refuse to enforce
this law. He would take the time to educate all New Yorkers of the
foolishness of a law like this. If that be political suicide, better
to die an honorable death. "I regret that I have but one political
career to give to my country." is a sentiment that more politicians
should express.

I encourage you to vote against Elliot Spitzer in the New York
State Governor's race.